When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.

Pretty stunning invasion of privacy. I understand companies wanting to know if there are skeletons in the closet, but this really goes too far. But, it does emphasize the idea of never posting something that you wouldn’t want to be seen in public.

Almost six weeks after McDonald’s Corp. made headlines saying it would stop using a meat product that has been referred to as “pink slime,” Kroger Co. said the product is used in some of the ground beef sold at its stores.…About 70 percent of the ground beef sold at supermarkets contains the meat filler, according to the ABC News report. Finely textured lean beef is made from low-grade trimmings that are simmered in low heat, the fat and tissue is separated using a centrifuge, and it’s sprayed with ammonia gas to kill germs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’s safe to eat.

I find this to be absolutely disgusting. It’s harder and harder to know exactly what you’re eating unless you get closer to the source like local butchers.

After taking a lump sum and paying taxes, the unemployed woman said she ended up with just more than $500,000.

Asked if she had the right to the public assistance money, Clayton answered, “I kind of do. I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”…Clayton told WDIV she would continue using the food-assistance card until it is cut off. “It’s hard. I am struggling.”

Vladimir V. Putin did well in Chechnya, a place that he virtually declared war on after becoming president in 1999, and whose people have suffered grievous human rights abuses at the hands of Russian security forces. The final tally: Putin, 1,482 votes; Gennady A. Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader, one vote.

This result was in itself statistically improbable. But even more difficult for the teachers who had been drafted onto the electoral commission to explain was the turnout: there were only 1,389 people registered in the precinct, meaning that the turnout was 107 percent.

As dysfunctional as our election process can be at times, at least we don’t have anything as bad as this.